The invention relates to tethered tops, for example to Yo-Yos, more particularly to a Yo-Yo capable of easy disassembly to replace the wooden center axle or to vary the configuration of the Yo-Yo by reversing the orientation of the two halves.
Yo-Yos having the capability of being dismantled are known. See, for example, U.S. Pats. Nos. 1,419,402; 1,806,485; 2,517,849; 3,233,359; and 3,936,974. Most of these disclosures relate to dismantlable Yo-Yos which require a screw driver or other such tool to remove a fastener associated with the core of the device, whereby the two halves may then be separated. However, the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 1,806,485 to Mirafuentes discloses a music-producing Yo-Yo having a pair of sections which may be dismantled by relative rotation of the two sections, as in the present invention. Mirafuentes includes a center pin or shaft having threads on one end which directly connect with and screw into a threaded socket formed at the center of one of the hollow, cup shaped sections or halves. Concentrically positioned over this center pin are three separate axle sections which provide the necessary separation between the two halves and which support a pair of circular metal discs which relate to the sound-producing function of the toy.
It is apparent that with the Mirafuentes device, it would be possible to replace the center string guide member if desired, by unscrewing the two body section halves from one another and dismantling the center assembly. However, the structure of Mirafuentes is not advantageous to the purposes of the present invention because its interior configuration is directed to the music-producing function and is more complex than that of the presently disclosed Yo-Yo. Also, the manner of connection of the threaded center pin or shaft is different from that of the present invention, having no separate nut members, and the Yo-Yo is not as durable or as attractive in appearance as the Yo-Yo of the present invention described below, nor does it allow for reversibility of Yo-Yo halves. Also, the type of body section halves disclosed in Mirafuentes would require that they be formed of metal or plastic rather than of the popular and classic hardwood.